View source for WIBM

{{Infobox radio station
| name             = WIBM
| logo             = [[Image:WIBM 95.9ThePowerCow logo.png|150px]]
| city             = [[Jackson, Michigan]]
| area             =
| branding         = ''95.9 The Power Cow''
| frequency        = 1450 [[kHz]]
| translator       = 95.9 W240DG (Jackson)
| airdate          = November 20, 1927 (in Jackson)
| format           = [[Country music|Country]]
| power            = 810 [[watt]]s
| class            = C
| facility_id      = 9248
| callsign_meaning =
| former_callsigns = WCXI (3/29/1994-12/8/1995)<br>WIBM (4/8/1987-3/29/1994)<br>WXCM (6/25/1980-4/8/1987)<br>WIBM (6/3/1925-6/25/1980)
| affiliations     = [[Premiere Networks]]
| owner            = Jamie McKibbin
| licensee         = McKibbin Media Group, Inc.
| sister_stations  = [[WKHM (AM)|WKHM]], [[WKHM-FM]]
| webcast          = [https://player.listenlive.co/52081 Listen Live]
| website          = [https://www.959thepowercow.com/ 959thepowercow.com]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
'''WIBM''' (1450 [[AM broadcasting|AM]]) is a [[country music]] [[radio station|station]] in [[Jackson, Michigan]] owned by Jamie McKibbin, through licensee McKibbin Media Group, Inc.  This company also owns [[news/talk]] [[WKHM (AM)|WKHM]] AM 970 and [[hot AC]] [[WKHM-FM]] "K105.3".
Current programming includes syndicated national morning show THE BOBBY BONES SHOW, Weekdays 6-10am. Middays with Captain Steve, 10am-2pm. And Greg Green in the Afternoons from 2-7pm. WIBM's programming is also heard on FM via translator '''W240DG''' at 95.9&nbsp;MHz.
==History==
WIBM was first licensed on June 3, 1925<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=68970 "Date First Licensed"], FCC History Cards for WIBM.</ref> to Billy Maine in Chicago, Illinois as a [[Portable broadcasting stations in the United States|portable broadcasting station]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=601 "New Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', July 1, 1925, page 3.</ref> The call letters were sequentially assigned, had no particular meaning, and were not associated with [[IBM|International Business Machines]] (IBM). However, taking advantage of the coincidence, in later years the station's [[Top 40]] music record surveys were designed to resemble an IBM computer keypunch card.
[[File:1926 advertisement for WIBM broadcasts from Barth Theatre in Carbondale, Illinois.gif|thumb|left|250px|January 1926 advertisement promoting WIBM's theater broadcasts at Carbondale, Illinois<ref>Barth Theatre (advertisement), ''Carbondale (Illinois) Free Press'', January 25, 1926, page 2.</ref>]]
Portable stations could be transported from place-to-place on movable platforms such as trucks. They were commonly hired out for a few weeks at a time to theaters located in small towns that didn't have their own radio stations, to be used for special programs broadcast to the local community.
Toward the end of 1926 ownership of WIBM was transferred to [[Charles Carrell|C. L. Carrell]] of Chicago, Illinois,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=218 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', December 31, 1926, page 8.</ref> joining a roster of seven portable stations operated by Carrell. However, due to the difficulty of regulating "moving targets", in May 1927 the newly formed [[Federal Radio Commission]] warned that it would soon stop licensing portable facilities.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=317 "Portable broadcasting stations licensed only for a limited period"] (General Order No. 6, April 26, 1927), ''Radio Service Bulletin'', April 30, 1927, page 15.</ref> Facing deletion, Carrell arranged for the station to be permanently moved to Jackson, Michigan.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763078&view=1up&seq=395 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', July 31, 1928, page 17.</ref>
WIBM began broadcasting from Jackson on November 20, 1927,<ref name="many">[https://www.mlive.com/citpat_history/2008/01/wibm_radio_has_had_many_locati.html "WIBM radio has had many locations"] by Susanne Weible, ''Jackson Citizen Patriot'', January 21, 2008 (mlive.com) Due to a typographical error, in some cases (for example, the [https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1958/Radio-AL-NE-1958-BC-YB.pdf#page=70 WIBM entry] in the 1958 edition of ''Broadcasting Yearbook''), a date of "November 20, 1924" has been incorrectly listed for the station's Jackson debut.</ref> from the 9th floor of the Blake Building (then known as the Reynolds Building). In 1930 station ownership was transferred from C. L. Carrell to WIBM, Incorporated. In 1941, with the implementation of the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]], WIBM moved from 1370&nbsp;kHz to the current 1450&nbsp;kHz. Following several studio moves, the station began operating out of 2511 Kibby Road in September 1948.<ref name="many"/>
[[Jack Paar]], future host of The Tonight Show, was a part-time announcer at the station during the mid-1930s.  Another WIBM notable is broadcast consultant Bill Hennes, afternoon drive personality on WIBM during the early 1960s.
In the 1960s and 1970s, WIBM served as the Jackson area's [[Top 40]] music station.  [[Casey Kasem]]'s [[American Top 40]] was heard on WIBM throughout the 1970s. In 1980, the Top 40 format was moved to its FM sister at 94.1 (now [[WWDK]] and no longer co-owned), and the AM station became '''WXCM''' with a [[country music]] format which continued until 1987, when the station went back to the heritage '''WIBM''' calls and became a simulcast of the [[oldies]] format on 94.1 WIBM-FM.
In 1994, WIBM (AM) was purchased by Cascades Broadcasting, then owners of [[WKHM (AM)|WKHM]]-AM/[[WKHM-FM|FM]], which changed its calls to '''WCXI''' and returned to a country format; the '''WIBM''' calls returned once again the following year.  In 1997 the station picked up the [[soft AC]]/[[easy listening]] format from sister WKHM-FM after the FM changed to an adult [[Contemporary hit radio|CHR]] format as "K105.3". WIBM was known as "Easy Relaxed 1450 AM" until adopting an ESPN Radio sports format in March 1999.
In 2014, WIBM became available on AM station 1450 and FM station 101.9.<ref>[http://wkhm.com/Coming-Soon-/18482737 Coming Soon! - WIBM & WKHM]</ref>
One of WIBM's most popular shows on ESPN Radio 101.9FM was "The Nooner" with Greg O'Connor. O'Connor, affectionately known as the GOC, has been hosting his afternoon sports show on WIBM since 2000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/jackson/index.ssf/2010/12/tom_and_greg_oconnor_who_combi.html|title=Tom and Greg O'Connor, who combined have broadcast on Jackson's airwaves for more than 55 years, named winners of 2010 Al Cotton Award|newspaper=Jackson Citizen Patriot|date=December 20, 2013|author=Mike Pryson|access-date=2016-11-21}} (MLive.com)</ref>
On June 30, 2016, WIBM changed their format from sports (which remains on WKHM-HD2 and W270CJ) to country, branded as "95.9 The Power Cow", simulcast on WKHM-HD3 and translator W240DG 95.9 FM Jackson.<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/107057/power-cow-charges-into-jackson-mi/ "Power Cow Charges Into Jackson, MI"] by Lance Venta, June 30, 2016. (Radioinsight.com)</ref>
Effective December 12, 2019, [[Jackson Radio Works]] sold WIBM, two sister stations, and three translators to Jamie McKibbin's McKibbin Media Group, Inc. for $3.8 million.
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
*[http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-g/wibm.html WIBM History] (Michiguide.com)
*[http://blog.mlive.com/citpat_history/2008/01/wibm_radio_has_had_many_locati.html WIBM History] (MLive.com)
==External links==
{{AM station data|9248|WIBM}}
*[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=68970 FCC History Cards for WIBM] (covering 1927-1980 as WIBM / WXCM)
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|146888|W240DG}}
*[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=W240DG&nav=&x=10&y=5 Radio Locator Information for W240DG] (radio-locator.com)
{{South Central Michigan Radio}}
{{Country Radio Stations in Michigan}}
{{coord|42|13|55|N|84|22|06|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
[[Category:Country radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Jackson, Michigan|IBM]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1925]]
[[Category:1925 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in Michigan]]